


I'm over all the small talk

by cantgetback



Category: 5 Seconds of Summer (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Flower Shop, I'm Sorry, Luke owns a flower shop, M/M, Michael wants to buy flowers for his asshole of a boyfriend, idk how to tag, that's an actual tag lmao
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-03-30
Updated: 2018-03-30
Packaged: 2019-04-15 01:37:04
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,187
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14149098
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/cantgetback/pseuds/cantgetback
Summary: Luke owns a small flower shop. Michael is fed up with his boyfriend. Sometimes, you just meet the right people.





	I'm over all the small talk

**Author's Note:**

> Hello lovelies! here's the prompt that inspired this little fic:  
> Person A owns a flower shop and person B comes storming in one day, slaps 20 bucks on the counter and says “How do I passive-aggressively say fuck you in flower?”. because I'm not about that html-life, I'll just copy-and-paste the link to the tumblr post with the prompt and some additional information I used here http://fanficy-prompts.tumblr.com/post/145995837291/flower-shop-au  
> This is my first time writing muke and also the first time ever I publicize my work for other people to see, so any kind of feedback would be appreciated! Also, I'm going to warn you in advance that since this is not beta'd and English isn't my first language, there are most likely mistakes in this, especially one sentence that I just couldn't make sense of (you'll know which one when you see it).  
> Anyway, I don't want to talk too long, I hope you enjoy reading this piece of my brain-vomit!

Luke loved flowers. He loved their beauty, how they could show simplicity or extravagance, loved how you could express your feelings through them. He loved thinking of different combinations of flowers, making their colours and shapes fit together perfectly, expressing exactly what one wanted to say without actually using words.

Maybe this is why he always wanted to have his own small flower shop. He really enjoyed giving each bouquet its own personality by not only paying attention to the looks of the different types of flowers but also taking their meaning into consideration. Everyone could tell you that red roses stand for romantic love but who knew that peonies show compassion, that purple hyacinths express sorrow or that chrysanthemums symbolize joy and long life? Well, Luke did, and maybe that's why his little shop was never lacking customers.

He just sent off a nervous redhead who wanted to get flowers for his first date with the advice to save the flowers for her birthday as the little bell on the entrance door rang yet again, announcing another possible customer. It's just Calum though, checking up on Luke because he knows how Luke gets after too many bouquets for completely-in-love couples. Luke hadn't been in a relationship since he ended things with his first and also last girlfriend from high school, because, well, Luke's gay. Maybe it's a bit cliché that he, a gay man, runs a flower shop, but Luke never gave two fucks about stereotypes anyway. If he enjoys arranging flowers and likes to paint his nails, but also watches football and drinks beer, so what?

Luke never was any good at flirting or making small talk, so he finds it quite difficult to meet new people, including possible romance prospects. He met his two best and also only friends in high school, immediately being caught by Calum's lovable personality right at the start of freshman year. About one year later, he started going out with his girlfriend of the time, wanting to be cool and date someone like everyone else his age started to do. He liked her and they clicked almost immediately, but there was always something missing. Around the same time, Calum told him about his crush on a certain senior with curly hair and hazel eyes, simultaneously outing himself as not-as-straight-as-he-thought.

Luke never fully understood how, but Calum actually got him. His curly-haired, hazel-eyed senior crush, that is. Maybe it were his irresistible puppy eyes that just completely melted Ashton's heart, or Calum somehow managed to mix a love potion into his lunch, but either way, they've been in a thriving relationship ever since. Seeing a happy, functioning same-sex couple right in front of his eyes (quite literally, since he had to watch them make out more than what was healthy, their honeymoon phase just didn't seem to end) was probably the last push he needed to end things with his girlfriend of the time and finally admit to himself and later on everyone else, that he had no interest whatsoever in girls, but would much rather snog blokes. He still had to actually get around to doing exactly that, though, courtesy of his lacking social skills.

Calum carefully pushed the door open with his shoulder, entering sideways as both his hands were each holding a massive paper bag filled with groceries and whatnot. "Hey Lukey. Did I come in time to save you from drowning in overthinking your relationship status?" he called out, a grin of amusement making its way onto his face. "Close call. A couple minutes more and I would have been lying on the floor in fetal position, clutching a bunch of red roses and crying over all the cute guys that came in to get flowers for their girlfriends. I cannot thank you enough for your chivalry." Luke retorts dryly, his voice dripping with sarcasm. Calum continues without as much as a blink: "I just finished grocery-shopping and thought I'd pass by for a quick hello. I'm making my special lasagna tonight, so don't you dare be late, understood?"

His stern voice and finger pointed threateningly towards him would've scared Luke if he didn't know Calum like the back of his hand. He, Ashton and Luke have been living together for ages now, lack of income forcing them to rent a flat all three of them together. Everybody enjoyed the others' company though, so it has never been a problem and no one felt the need to move out after they could afford it. Except that living together with a ridiculously whipped-for-each-other couple hadn't really been reducing Luke's desire to find that special someone himself.

Luke just nodded solemnly before Calum went to leave the shop. He just managed to open the door with his hands packed with bags, as a guy who looks like he's about to murder someone storms past him, almost knocking him over. Calum just so catches himself before the contents of his bags spill all over the floor and onto the pavement outside. He smirks and shouts a "good luck!" to Luke before finally leaving and making his way home to their flat.

Luke stared flabbergasted at the young man with the grim expression storming towards him, slapping a couple of bills on the counter and asking heatedly: "How do I passive-aggressively say fuck you in flower?"

He was beautiful. Beautiful in an unconventional way which made him even more stunning. He was quite the opposite of today's beauty ideals: pale skin, not really muscly and thin, but so, so pink lips. His hair was pale blond and fluffy, dark blond, almost brown roots clearly visible. His face consisted mostly of round features, no cutting jawline or sharp cheekbones, but it had its own charm, making him so much more handsome than all these models with their angular faces. His right eyebrow was pierced and Luke could see tattoos poking out of his slightly-too-big band tee and on his hands. Pale green eyes which were currently filled with rage and poorly-hidden anguish were focused on Luke.

Right. He was talking to him. Luke should probably stop staring before he noticed. Except he already did, judging by his pierced eyebrow raised in question.

“Well? Are you gonna say something or should I just show myself out again?”

Luke shook himself out of his trance and tried to form a response that would not make him look like an idiot, but his brain failed him yet again and all he got out was “what?”

Green-eyes-and-fluffy-hair sighed. “I just found out that my ass of a boyfriend, soon-to-be ex-boyfriend cheated on me and I thought 'why not get him some flowers along with a go-fuck-yourself?'. So that's why I'm here to get a bouquet which can convey my emotions best and I heard that you're supposed to be quite good at injecting flowers with hidden messages.”

“Oh. Well, that I can do. You don't look all that sad about your cheating boyfriend, though. What's up with that?”

“I was already thinking about how to break up with him because honestly, he was kind of an ass, but I felt sorry for him. Now I'm fucking done with him though, even though I didn't like him all that much, I still feel kind of offended that he cheated. I mean, who in their right mind would ever pass up a chance of getting a piece of this?”

The last sentence was accompanied by him pointing his hands at himself. Luke can't help but giggle like a little girl, feeling a blush creep up onto his cheeks. He hoped he didn't notice. Trying to regain his composure, he turned towards the right where he kept the flowers for the bouquets on a big shelf which ran all the way to the back wall. “I don't suppose you have any preferences for colours or flower types?”

“You could literally hand me a bunch of cacti and I would give them to him. Actually, that might even be a nice idea...” He scratched his chin covered by a light stubble in mock thought, looking up and pursing his pretty pink lips in thought. “Too late, I already have an idea and it's gonna be way more effective than a bunch of cacti, giving him false hope of you actually bringing him flowers in a romantic and not a 'fuck you' way. It's gonna be perfect.”

“If you say so, you're the flower expert here.”

“Okay let me think...” Luke said, walking back and forth in front of the gigantic flower shelf. “So, we wanna stay away from red and pink since they're traditionally more romantic colours and that's not really what we're going for. Let's start with a couple of orange lilies.” He moved forward and plucked a handful of the orange flowers from the shelf. “ They stand for hatred, I think that's quite fitting, wouldn't you say, um..” Luke said as he turned to look at the man he still didn't know the name of, prompting him to fill his name in.

“Michael” came the raspy reply, accompanied by a smirk. “And I really like them, just keep going. It's quite fascinating, watching you work your magic.”

“Oh, um, thanks?” is all Luke could get out. Great. He's totally not making a giant fool out of himself. He went and picked out a few yellow carnations and added them to the lilies in his left hand. “Now your bouquet says 'You have disappointed me. I hate you.'”

At that, Michaels spluttered out a laugh. As Luke shot a questioning glance his way, he just waved him on, still smiling across both of his cheeks.

“What?” Luke asked questioningly, having stopped looking at the flowers, focusing his attention on Michael again. “What's so funny?” he half-pouts.

“Nothing, it's just... you're so adorable picking your flowers from your humongous shelf, saying things like 'You have disappointed me. I hate you.'” The last part sounded like he was trying to imitate Luke but failed horribly.

He needed to stop. Michael needed to stop immediately or Luke would turn into a real-life tomato human from blushing too hard. He just turned back towards his flowers without responding, only sighing quietly.

“Next we'll add a bit of meadowsweet and two or three sprigs of foxglove because if someone cheats on their boyfriend, they're sure as hell insincere and useless.”

“The cute and innocent flower boy swears? Quick, somebody call an ambulance, I think I'm gonna faint.” Michael said while raising his hand to his forehead, miming someone losing consciousness.

“You're unbelievable. I think I'm starting to understand why your boyfriend moved on from you” is all Luke responded to Michael's little act.

“Excuse you? I'm perfectly dateable and my sense of humour is great, thank you very much.” Michael managed to actually sound offended, to which Luke only rolled his eyes in amusement, concentrating back on the flowers in his hands.

“Something's still missing. Wait! This bouquet wouldn't be complete without some” he reached for a handful of geraniums “stupidity!” Proudly he held the by now quite large bunch of flowers up for Michael to see. “Well, I still need to arrange them nicely and wrap them, but most of the work is done.”

“You” Michael said, pointing a finger at Luke “are absolutely ridiculous, but the flowers look really pretty, so I'm gonna forgive you. Just don't kill yourself by dropping your scissors and then tripping and falling straight on them and stabbing yourself, because you look the type.”

“Do not!” Luke said, trying to sound as offended as possible. He was absolutely not clumsy. Well, Ashton and Calum would beg to differ, living together with him and seeing him trip over his impossibly long legs at least twice a day, but Michael didn't need to know that.

“Just wrap the flowers, pretty boy.” At that, Luke almost choked on his own spit. Could Michael stop complimenting him for one damn second? He would yet have to end things with his current boyfriend and he was already going around flirting with other guys? Luke could and would never.

“Just a second...” Luke finishes up the flower bouquet and then hands it to Michael. “There you go. Your personal passive-aggressive fuck you in flower.”

Michael is just about to thank Luke for his work as a phone ringing sounds from somewhere behind the door at the back of the room. Luke let out a deep sigh but moved towards it anyway. “It'll only be a second, then I'll be right back with you!” he shouts over his shoulder.

 

When he comes back from telling his mum yet again not to call during opening hours even if there might not be a customer in the shop right now, the shop is empty, Michael gone and only his money and a small piece of paper left on the counter. On it, there's a hastily scribbled phone number and a barely readable 'text me'. Luke picks both up with a smile, putting the money away and shoving the note into the pocket of his jeans.

**Author's Note:**

> Sooo that's it? Again, I'd love to hear some feedback, if you liked the concept, my writing and if you would like to see a sequel to this!  
> All the love, Anika :)
> 
> p.s. I also have a twitter @cantgetback, come and annoy me there if you'd like


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